The Better Than Nothing Wokout

I wasn't feeling super-motivated this morning, but I know a busy weekend might get in the way of my workout plans, so I drug myself to the gym this morning for a "better than nothing" workout.  I do this workout from time to time when I've had some tougher workouts earlier in the week or when my motivation is lacking.  Usually once I get going, I find my groove and end up getting a good workout after all. 

When I walked into the gym, I grabbed a set of 15 pound dumbbells and headed to the elliptical.  I alternated 5 minutes on the elliptical, increasing the resistance every 30 seconds, with a leg circuit using the dumbbells which included 50 squats, 25 deadlifts, 15 lunges each leg, and 20 sumo squats.  I always tell myself I'll just go through it twice and see how I feel.  I almost always end up doing more.  Today, I repeated this cycle 4 times to give me 20 minutes of cardio and a "better than nothing" leg workout. 

I had found a bit more spunk in myself by the end of the elliptical circuit so I headed over to do 5 minutes of various plank exercises, resting as needed.  I rounded out the workout with dropsets on the following machines:

• leg adduction
• leg abduction
• leg curl
• leg extension
• leg press

What began as a ho hum trip to the gym ended up being a great workout, and it only took me 40 minutes.  I came home feeling more energized and ready to start my day after a delicious breakfast of scrambled egg whites with onions and garlic, a piece of Ezekiel toast, a veggie burger patty and a side of mixed berries.  YUM!

Make it a great day!